Parliament Question: Greenfield Airport in Dhanbad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 851 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23rd July 2026 ) GREENFIELD AIRPORT IN DHANBAD 851. SHRI DULU MAHATO Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) whether the Government has completed any official technical feasibility study for Dhanbad Airport, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (b) the reasons for not convening a joint stakeholders' meeting so far despite repeated representations from public representatives and whether the Government proposes to prescribe any timeline in this regard and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government admits that the lack of air connectivity since 1987 in this region is the result of administrative inaction affecting industrial development and pilgrims visiting ‘Shri Sammed Shikharji’ and if so, the details thereof; (d) the details of the action taken so far on the letters sent to the State Government and the alternative strategy of the Ministry for desired progress in this regard; and (e) the clear roadmap for the project and the time by which it is likely to be completed? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a) to (e): As per Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008, if any Airport developer including the State Government desires to develop a Greenfield airport, they are required to identify a suitable site and get the Pre-feasibility Study conducted and submit a proposal to the Central Government for 'Site Clearance' followed by 'In-Principle' approval. On the request of State Government of Jharkhand, a Pre-feasibility study for development of a Greenfield airport at Baliapur (Dhanbad) was carried out by multi-disciplinary team of Airports Authority of India in 2017 and the report was submitted to State Government.Proposal seeking 'Site Clearance' under GFA Policy for establishment of a Greenfield Airport at Dhanbad has not been received. As per GFA Policy, the responsibility for implementation of the Greenfield airport projects including land acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement, funding etc. lies with the concerned airport developer or the State Government, as the case may be. The timeline for completion of the airport projects depends upon several factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances, financial closure etc. ******